News from the Music Technology Program in the Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions

Monthly Archives: February 2018

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Meet our student spotlight: Sebastián Coloma! Sebastián is a Latin American singer-songwriter, and a Music Technology graduate student at NYU. He started his artist career in 2017, with the release of his first single titled “Al Compás,” which he followed up with his newest single release called “Dime Tú”. At NYU, Sebastián has focused on music production and engineering, working with multiple artists in their projects, as well as producing and engineering for his own material. Sebastián is currently working on his master’s thesis, where he is designing a hybrid music production course for audio beginners.

♦ Congratulations on the release of your new music video, “Dime Tú”! It looks incredible. Can you tell us a little bit about who you are and what your Music Technology background is?

Of course! I am a current Music Technology graduate student, though I also did my undergrad here at NYU in Mtech. I am originally from Venezuela and Panama, and I have been focusing on producing and engineering for about 6 years now. Recently, I decided to also give the artist life a try, so I produced some of my own songs and released them independently.

Sebastián’s “Dime Tú” Music Video:

♦ What are your main sources of inspiration that you draw from when writing and creating your own music?

Most of my musical inspiration and influence comes from Latin American music. I grew up listening to all these Latin genres and they really shaped my musical style. I was always a big fan of Argentinian rock artists like Gustavo Cerati and Andrés Calamaro, but I also loved listening to salsa and merengue artist like Rubén Blades and Juan Luis Guerra. Recently, a lot of my music is inspired by the works of Mexican artist Natalia Lafourcade, who sings very traditional Latin folk songs. As far as to what I write about, almost all of my songs are based on personal experiences, which I think are usually things that people can relate to.

♦ What are some things that you’ve taken away from your time as a student in Music Tech that has helped you accomplish everything that you’ve done being an artist?

I think everything I learned about production and recording during my time in MTech really changed the way I approach composition, and it also enabled me to apply my production and engineering knowledge into my own music. Additionally, being in NYU and in MTech allowed me to connect and work with so many talented people throughout the entire process, including talented musicians, business people and even film directors. This music video I just released was actually directed by a Tisch graduate who I met during my time as an undergrad in MTech, because I did the score for one of her films.

♦ Where do you hope see yourself down the line if you continue to pursue writing and creating music?

Sebastián Coloma. Photo by Spencer Shafter.

Music has always been a passion to me, it’s something that I have always enjoyed doing so I think if I can continue doing that, even if just for myself, I would be happy. I think personally, art comes first, and then hopefully if more people relate to it and enjoy it, success comes along. So, I hope down the line I’ll be at a place where I am still enjoying writing and performing music, whether it be for an audience of thousands, hundreds or just a couple of close friends.

♦ For all the students out there in Music Technology who want to pursue becoming an artist, what advice do you have for them?

Surround yourself with people who are more talented and/or experienced than you are. Collaborate and work with other people who you can learn from. And lastly, write music that you love, for yourself. I think currently it is easy to judge one’s success as an artist based on youtube views, post likes, or amount of followers on social media, but it always breaks my heart to see talented artists get discouraged because they do not meet those “high” standards of success, or change their styles in hope of getting more likes. Do it because you like it, and not because of anything else.

This is a segment of our blog where we feature awesome gear that is widely used within the music industry that is also available for our students to check out in our Monitor’s closet during their studio time! This week: Roli Blocks!

If you’ve heard about Roli’s products or have even been lucky enough to play one, you probably know how versatile and expressive this touch and pressure responsive keyboard is. Using 5D touch technology, 200+ free sounds to work with, and options to perform wirelessly, it is no surprise that big name artists such as Grammy award winning Alessia Cara and La La Land composer Justin Hurwitz have used Roli products to produce, compose, and arrange their music.

Check out what Roli Blocks can do and see if it inspires your next musical creation!